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05-20-2014, 12:11 AM

#21

PalmSizeHeliMan

Join Date: May 2003

Location: Mesa, AZ

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MIA Original From ground up 1:4 Scale RC Microlight Pilot

1:4 Scale RC Microlight Pilot
But designed for other RC models in its specific scale.

Introduction

Ever since I started designing RC microlights more than 20 years ago, as a result of not finding a model to my liking, my goal has been to make everything from scratch including the pilot body, flight suit, helmet, accessories, control panel and all other sorts of goodies.
Most of my life has been involved in Models of some sort and it is not by accident I enjoy making all sorts of RC stuff.
In the many years I've been involved with RC models I've also had a hard time trying to find a pilot figure not only to the scale I like my models in but also with a degree of elegantcy.
There are some very nice pilot figure models I came across from a source here and there but they are more geared at war replica airplane pilot figures and not modern day civil sport planes and aircraft.

The Way I make my Own Designs
My approach to My Own Design Projects, typically start with a rough sketch of what I want to make and from there it goes through a metamorphosis of 2D to 3D cad design models, to some rough physical prototypes and finally a 3D model that I can take to my CNC machine and sculpt it with a great degree of accuracy. For those who are familiar with making models in 3D and machining them, you'll appreciate that it is not an easy process. Requires a lot of patience and if you are meticulous about it, it can take a long time. But I really enjoy this type of work, and It normally takes me 3 tries before I am finally happy with the end result. This photo is the result of close to 24 pilot prototypes, including various bodies, and accessories in various scales and having a ball with when I get a chance to play with them.

About the Pilot Flight Suit

The pilot suit was done from real ideal human man proportions and scaled to the size desired, then measurements taken to form the flight suit. It was 3 flight suits I'd sewn before I got the hang of it, and then it was perfecting the flight suit as well as the boots and gloves patterns.
My Mom had a masters degree in Fashion Design with an impeccable eye and skill for fitting and making clothing for people who had less than perfect bodies, but when done they looked like a million dollars. I remember watching her do patterns from scratch and became familiar with sewing equipment and its process at my early age. But even with this luxury, it was quite a challenge getting the pilot flight suit, not to mention the boots and gloves perfected. I am still tweaking them here and there. I wished I had paid a little more attention when she was around, it would have made making the flight suit sewing, especially in the crotch and arms area easier. This is where a well sewn garment separates from another.

About the Pilot Boots and Gloves

There are so many ways one can "mimic" the look of the gloves as well as the boots, in fact for an enclosed rc microlight model , you really don't need to show the feet, but my RC microlights are mostly open cockpit, larger than GI-Joe size, and I like my pilot to show off its body in full detail, not just something that looks the part from far away.
I started playing with various shoe patterns and sleeves but most of the ones I tried first were to simple, I was trying to make it easier, then gave up and decided if I wanted the boots to look right I had to do a lot more work and this required more pieces to meticulously sew and assemble. I did a list of things I did not want in a miniature RC microlight pilot boot and by process of elimination I arrived at the "subtle squared toe" shape a favorite of mine since I remember buying my first pair of shoes and boots. This may not be exactly what real microlight pilots wear, but it looks great and complements the rest of the pilot accessories and I it is unique to my own design rc model. The same process with the Gloves.

The Pilot Body

Sometime years back I had started to make poseable lightweight pilot bodies for my own design RC trikes, ultralights, helicopters and autogyros, but it has been one of those things that I am never done with and something always to make better. I do prefer a full animatronics robo pilot body that can control the model directly " truelly realistic" and not the other way around. It is simpler to have a limp pilot body or suit filled with minimal shaping material and loosely held to the model control bar to simulate the action of steering. I had done this with some earlier pilot bodies, as most rc enthusiasts start this way, but I wanted the pilot body to have the option to be stuffed or with a fully mechanically articulated skeleton as in some of my robo trikes "microlights", ultralights, helicopters and autogyros.

The Pilot Face

Sculpted from oven curable clay, skin color and painted. I modeled the face from a random selection of male faces, but am trying to decide if pehaps he should be not as serious, or may he should look mean so people don't mess with my RC Microlights

The Complementing RC Microlight

The trike in the background is large but in proportion to the pilot. It was designed in larger scale to the 1.0 sizes I make in all sorts of RC models, so the look, parts, assembly process is all methodically the same and some may just have recognized already the details in the way I make rc models. The "orange sail" is a bit more elaborate than my earlier trike wing sails, and it has been done this way because on this size, at 1:4 scale, I can afford the extra details such as full set of battens, double sewn and reinforced wing. I learned a lot in designing my first trike back in the 80's, back then due to power limitations, equipment and battery technology my sails had lower shaping battens, but every one of my post designs in various sizes and forms of control, have been with the aim to perfect the design of the RC Microlight "for the intended application". Note that making one for oneself is not the same as making a model that others can build with the same degree of success, ease, and accuracy. Because designing models is also a full time job of mine, I tend to focus on the latter.
For those who have been following my RC Microlight projects as early as the 80s when I lived in Chicago" near Stanton Hobby, no internet back then", and maybe for those who were following all my early " RC Trike" postings on the internet as of 2000 when there were no RC Microlights (Trikes) on You Tube, or mentioned in any RC forums, this project will be no news.
Anyway this is just a sneak peek of the stuff I love to work on...and more of a personal fun project blog. More on this project as time permits...
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